Bhagavad-gita Class

Giriraj Swami:

Bg. 11.55

mat-karma-kṛn mat-paramo
mad-bhaktaḥ saṅga-varjitaḥ

nirvairaḥ sarva-bhūteṣu
yaḥ sa mām eti pāṇḍava

TRANSLATION

My dear Arjuna, he who engages in My pure devotional service, free from the contaminations of fruitive activities and mental speculation, he who works for Me, who makes Me the supreme goal of his life, and who is friendly to every living being – he certainly comes to Me.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Anyone who wants to approach the supreme of all the Personalities of Godhead, on the Kṛṣṇaloka planet in the spiritual sky, and be intimately connected with the Supreme Personality, Kṛṣṇa, must take this formula, as stated by the Supreme Himself. Therefore, this verse is considered to be the essence of Bhagavad-gītā. The Bhagavad-gītā is a book directed to the conditioned souls, who are engaged in the material world with the purpose of lording it over nature and who do not know of the real, spiritual life. The Bhagavad-gītā is meant to show how one can understand his spiritual existence and his eternal relationship with the supreme spiritual personality and to teach one how to go back home, back to Godhead. Now here is the verse which clearly explains the process by which one can attain success in his spiritual activity: devotional service

COMMENT

So, in the first paragraph of the purport Srila Prabhupada explains the purpose of Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā is meant for the conditioned souls, to enlighten them about three important items of knowledge. First, the identity of the living entities as spirit souls, parts and parcels of Krishna who are by constitution, the eternal servants of Krishna. And the Bhagavad-gītā further teaches them that the goal of life is to go back home, back to Godhead. And here, the Bhagavad-gītā explains the process by which one can go back home, back to Godhead. And the process is devotional service.

PURPORT (continued)

As far as work is concerned, one should transfer his energy entirely to Kṛṣṇa conscious activities. As stated in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.255),

anāsaktasya viṣayān
yathārham upayuñjataḥ
nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe
yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate

No work should be done by any man except in relationship to Kṛṣṇa. This is called kṛṣṇa-karma. One may be engaged in various activities, but one should not be attached to the result of his work; the result should be done only for Him. For example, one may be engaged in business, but to transform that activity into Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one has to do business for Kṛṣṇa. If Kṛṣṇa is the proprietor of the business, then Kṛṣṇa should enjoy the profit of the business. If a businessman is in possession of thousands and thousands of dollars, and if he has to offer all this to Kṛṣṇa, he can do it. This is work for Kṛṣṇa. Instead of constructing a big building for his sense gratification, he can construct a nice temple for Kṛṣṇa, and he can install the Deity of Kṛṣṇa and arrange for the Deity’s service, as is outlined in the authorized books of devotional service. This is all kṛṣṇa-karma. One should not be attached to the result of his work, but the result should be offered to Kṛṣṇa, and one should accept as prasādam the remnants of offerings to Kṛṣṇa. If one constructs a very big building for Kṛṣṇa and installs the Deity of Kṛṣṇa, one is not prohibited from living there, but it is understood that the proprietor of the building is Kṛṣṇa. That is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

COMMENT

So, Srila Prabhupada himself is the example of, how one can perfectly fulfill the instructions of Lord Krishna, here in Bhagavad-gītā. Of course, Srila Prabhupada lived as a sannyasi in India before he came to America. But he had received an instruction from his guru Maharaja at Radha-kunda that, “If you ever get money, print books.” So, when Srila Prabhupada came to America and began to preach Krishna consciousness, some young men and women came forward to help him. And he immediately engaged them in printing Back to Godhead Magazine. And later, as he got more facility, he published Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, Teachings of Lord Caitanya, and eventually, Īśopaniṣad, The Nectar of Devotion, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and eventually Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta.

In the introduction to the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Srila Prabhupada explains the difference between fruitive work and devotional service. Because the two may appear very similar but actually, they are very different. And the difference is of consciousness. In fruitive work, one works for one’s own sense gratification whereas in devotional service, one works for Krishna’s pleasure. And Srila Prabhupada gave his own example that he was a sannyasi but he was going into the marketplace in Delhi, going to the paper shops, purchasing paper, going to the printer’s shop and engaging the printer. And from the material point of view, one could think, what kind of a sannyasi is he. He is engaged in material activities, just like anyone else. But Srila Prabhupada explains that the difference is that he was not going into the market to buy paper, or going to the printer’s shop to print books about sense gratification to make money so that, he could spend it on sense gratification, but he was going to print books about Krishna. And whatever money he got from the books would be used for the service of Krishna not for himself. And therefore, the same activity that resembles exactly fruitive activity was actually devotional service because it was done for Krishna. And therefore, Srila Prabhupada fulfilled the first instruction in the verse here, mat-karma-kṛn, that one should work for Krishna.

Similarly, Srila Prabhupada engaged hundreds and thousands of disciples, in distributing his books. And every day, thousands of dollars were coming into the society through the distribution of books. But the disciples also did not keep the money, to use for sense gratification. But they gave the money to Srila Prabhupada or his representatives to engage in Krishna’s service. And therefore, they also were engaged through disciplic succession in kṛṣṇa-karma, worked for Krishna. So, as Srila Prabhupada mentions in the purport that if one builds a beautiful temple for Krishna and installs the Deity of Krishna, one is not prohibited from living in the building. But one lives in the building as the servant of Krishna and Krishna is the proprietor. And we also heard stories. Of course, I joined in Boston in 1969 but even then, we heard stories about the temple in Los Angeles. How the devotees would go out in the streets and perform hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana and invite people to the temple. Their whole purpose was to bring people to the temple, to see Sri Sri Rukmini-Dwarkadhish, because They were the proprietors and we were the servants. And we were going out to bring people to come and see Them. Because we knew that the people who came to see them would be benefited. And also, the deities would be pleased to see the people come to Them. So, the devotees were able to live, but they were living as servants in the temple of Krishna and living by the mercy of Krishna, by kṛṣṇa-prasāda.

PURPORT (continued)

That is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If, however, one is not able to construct a temple for Kṛṣṇa, one can engage himself in cleansing the temple of Kṛṣṇa; that is also kṛṣṇa-karma. One can cultivate a garden. Anyone who has land – in India, at least, any poor man has a certain amount of land – can utilize that for Kṛṣṇa by growing flowers to offer Him. One can sow tulasī plants, because tulasī leaves are very important and Kṛṣṇa has recommended this in Bhagavad-gītā. Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyam. Kṛṣṇa desires that one offer Him either a leaf, or a flower, or fruit, or a little water – and by such an offering He is satisfied. This leaf especially refers to the tulasī. So one can sow tulasī and pour water on the plant. Thus, even the poorest man can engage in the service of Kṛṣṇa. These are some of the examples of how one can engage in working for Kṛṣṇa.

COMMENT

So, January 14th marked the twenty fifth anniversary of the grand opening of Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari Ji’s Temple and cultural center in Juhu, Bombay. And the devotees there, are celebrating the anniversary or silver jubilee for five days. Even today, the celebrations are continuing in Juhu. And therefore, I will dedicate the rest of the purport, and the discussion of the purport to Srila Prabhupada and his service to Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari in Bombay.

Now, we just read about how even the poorest man can offer a leaf or a flower to Krishna. And here, I recall one incident with Srila Prabhupada in Bombay. As many of you may know from Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta and other sources, Srila Prabhupada entered an agreement to buy a piece of land near Juhu beach which he subsequently called Hare Krishna land. But the owner of the land named Mr. Nair, took the down-payment from Srila Prabhupada. And on some pretext, he canceled the sales agreement and wanted to keep the money. And of course, Srila Prabhupada wanted the land but still, he told Mr. Nair that, “You return our money and we will go. Otherwise, you give us the land. But you cannot keep both, the land and the money.” So, because of the legal complications with the landlord, Srila Prabhupada was not actually able to complete the transaction for some time. And Srila Prabhupada had no place to stay. We weren’t able to construct any place for Srila Prabhupada to stay at Hare Krishna land.

So, Srila Prabhupada had one staunch householder devotee named Mr. Sethi, he is still there in Bombay. He is quite old now, but he is still there, very active and very devoted. And he was building a house in the Juhu scheme near the temple and the name of the house was Vrindavan. And when the house was almost ready but not furnished, Mr. Sethi invited Srila Prabhupada to stay there. Because Srila Prabhupada was just moving from place to place, staying in different people’s houses in the Juhu area. So at least here, Srila Prabhupada could have the house to himself and a few of his disciples. So, he began to stay there. So Srila Prabhupada, of course, was very preoccupied with the whole complication regarding the Juhu land. And he was always discussing it with his senior disciples, and sometimes with life members, and friends, and lawyers, and other people who could help.

So, one day when Srila Prabhupada was having a serious discussion about Hare Krishna land, a very poor man, poor man means a laborer, Indian laborer, dark complexion and muscular physique, and just wearing a little piece of white cloth, dirty white cloth around his waist. And I don’t know, how he knew Srila Prabhupada was even in the house, but he walked in the door downstairs, Prabhupada was upstairs. He walked up the stairs, came to the door and there was Srila Prabhupada with some gentlemen engaged in conversation. Walked into the room, passed the devotees that Srila Prabhupada was discussing with, walked straight up to Srila Prabhupada’s table, and he placed a bunch of flowers before Srila Prabhupada, bowed down, and walked out. And Srila Prabhupada was so moved. He couldn’t even speak for a few moments; he was so moved. And then, he began to say how this humble soul had come and offered these flowers to him. And he was so touched by the person’s devotion, just a very ordinary laborer. And then Srila Prabhupada said, “So what to speak of Krishna?” Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But even Krishna, if someone offers Him just some flowers or leaves with devotion, He also is moved by the offer and He is pleased to accept it.

So yes, Srila Prabhupada was expert and he engaged so many gentlemen in Bombay to give for the temple. And he engaged his disciples to engage the gentleman in Bombay. His holiness Sridhra Swami called upon Dwarkadish dasa, when he was living in Bombay but in one of the northern suburbs, Matunga, and Dwarkadish dasa became a life member. So, that was his beginning, kṛṣṇa-karma. And now look, where he has come. He is sitting right next to Srivasa Prabhu. So, that is kṛṣṇa-karma, if one is able. At the time, the biggest donors we had to the Juhu temple then were the Hindujas, if one is able, one can give a big donation to help build a beautiful temple. But if one is not able, if all one can do is just pick some leaves, and flowers, and bring them to offer to the deity or to the saintly person, that is also kṛṣṇa-karma. And Krishna regards both equally. In fact, it is said that Krishna doesn’t see, how much you are giving Him, but He sees, how much you are holding back. So, if a rich man gives five lakhs but he is keeping for himself fifty crores, Krishna sees that. And if someone is just eking out a very meager existence, getting a few rupees to maintain himself and his family. And if he goes out of his way, and brings some leaves, and flowers which he probably doesn’t even have in his own house, Krishna considers that very important.

PURPORT (continued)

A devotee of Kṛṣṇa is friendly to everyone. Therefore it is said here that he has no enemy (nirvairaḥ). How is this? A devotee situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness knows that only devotional service to Kṛṣṇa can relieve a person from all the problems of life. He has personal experience of this, and therefore he wants to introduce this system, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, into human society.

COMMENT

And this was Srila Prabhupada’s mood and mission in Juhu. It was his mood and mission all over the world but specifically, we are going to discuss Juhu. So, let us continue.

PURPORT (continued)

There are many examples in history of devotees of the Lord who risked their lives for the spreading of God consciousness. The favorite example is Lord Jesus Christ. He was crucified by the nondevotees, but he sacrificed his life for spreading God consciousness. Of course, it would be superficial to understand that he was killed. Similarly, in India also there are many examples, such as Ṭhākura Haridāsa and Prahlāda Mahārāja. Why such risk? Because they wanted to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and it is difficult. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person knows that if a man is suffering it is due to his forgetfulness of his eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, the highest benefit one can render to human society is relieving one’s neighbor from all material problems. In such a way, a pure devotee is engaged in the service of the Lord. Now, we can imagine how merciful Kṛṣṇa is to those engaged in His service, risking everything for Him.

COMMENT

So superficially, we could say that Srila Prabhupada had many enemies in Juhu. Because first of all, Mr. Nair wanted to keep the money and the land. And Mr. Nair basically mounted a campaign to drive the devotees and the deities from the land. He even hired one coconut wallah. They climb the trees, and they have their knives, and they cut down the coconuts, named Ramu. And Ramu, when it was time for ārati and devotees from the neighborhood would come to the temple, he would stand near the gate, brandishing this machete, trying to intimidate the people and scare the people, so they wouldn’t come. And sometimes Mr. Nair would cut the electricity. Sometimes, he would cut the water. And as it was, there were so many mosquitoes there, what to speak of rats. So it was very difficult. But Srila Prabhupada insisted, we must stay. We cannot give in. And eventually, there were so many intrigues and court cases. In the end, Srila Prabhupada was successful. Srila Prabhupada said, there was a big click that formed to drive us off of the land.

So, a devotee has no enemies. But it seemed that Prabhupada had so many enemies; the landlord, the tenants, the neighbors, the municipal corporation, some of the government officers, and the police department. They were acting like enemies. So, how is it possible that a pure devotee like, Srila Prabhupada could have enemies? Srila Prabhupada explains that although the devotee is friendly to everyone, he wants only the welfare of all living entities. And therefore, he takes so much trouble to preach Krishna consciousness. Although he is friendly towards everyone but there are people who become envious of the pure devotee and they become inimical, out of their own envious natures. And Srila Prabhupada gave the example of the snake because the snake is considered very envious. But Canakya Pandit says that although, a snake and a human being both are envious. But an envious man is more dangerous than an envious snake. Because a snake can be charmed by mantras and herbs. But an envious person cannot be pacified by any means. So many enemies, so many problems, but Prabhupada tolerated and why? Only for the sake of doing good for others, only for the sake of giving people Krishna consciousness. And what is the result of such an attitude of service?

PURPORT (continued)

In such a way, a pure devotee is engaged in the service of the Lord. Now, we can imagine how merciful Kṛṣṇa is to those engaged in His service, risking everything for Him. Therefore it is certain that such persons must reach the supreme planet after leaving the body.

COMMENT

In other words, if one does work for Krishna and in particular, work to spread Krishna consciousness to do the best welfare work, not only for the human society but for every living entity, the result is that in the end, he will go back home, back to Godhead. Now, Srila Prabhupada had a great mission. He wanted to deliver every living entity back home, back to Godhead. And therefore, he opened centers all over the world especially, for broadcasting the holy name and engaging people in chanting the holy name, distributing the message of Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, and engaging others and distributing the same message. And by engaging them in the same work for the benefit of others, in other words, engaging them in the work of spreading Krishna consciousness, they would also be guaranteed the same result of going back home, back to Godhead.

So basically, there are two categories of devotees in one sense. There are the bhajanānandīs who just want to enjoy the bliss of Krishna consciousness, but they are not so involved in helping others to become Krishna conscious. And then, there are the goṣṭhyānandīs who take pleasure in bringing others to Krishna consciousness beyond any other consideration. And although, the bhajanānandīs may be very concerned with their own liberation that in the end, they can go back home, back to Godhead and enter into a direct relationship with Krishna. It is actually the goṣṭhyānandīs who dedicate their lives to spreading Krishna consciousness that are assured by Lord Krishna Himself, of going back home, back to Godhead. And therefore, as Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual master instructed him, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, that “If you preach Krishna consciousness, you will benefit and the people who hear you, will also benefit.” Both will benefit.

So, I suppose many of you have visited the Juhu temple. How many of you have visited the Juhu temple? Just see. So, it is the result of a great struggle or I should say a series of struggles that such a temple exists. And it is able to engage people and serve people from all over the world so that they can get the real solution to life’s problems and go back home, back to Godhead. So, His Holiness Sridhra Swami has played a great part in organizing the festival and especially, in inviting the devotees who worked on the project from the beginning, even the devotees who preached in Bombay before we even got the Juhu land. So, a large number of devotees have won and he got one very nice devotee there Krishna Chandra Prabhu to sponsor their tickets. So, from the Los Angeles area, Mother Kausalya has gone. Madhudvisa Prabhu has gone. He was actually the temple president in the Akash Ganga which was the flat we had on Morton road before we got the Juhu land. And [Unintelligible 00:40:13] Prabhu has gone, he was the site supervisor. Before that he would go out with us preaching and then when the construction began, he became Saurabh Prabhu’s main assistant to supervise the work on the site. And Eknath Prabhu has gone, he is with the Bhaktivedanta archives. Of course, they have moved from Los Angeles and he was the treasurer for the construction department. And Guru dasa Prabhu from the bay area, he often comes to the Prabhupada festival here, he went. And Shyamasundara Prabhu, many have gone and are there now. And I am sure when they come back, they will have many wonderful experiences to share; stories to tell. Nara Narayana Prabhu is there. The other day, I was telling the story and somehow visualizing it in cinematic terms, and his role in the film would have been most dramatic. Well, we will save that for another time for, of course, a smaller group. That was like a turning point.

Well, I can tell you because it is not to find fault with anyone because we were just very new in India and new in Krishna consciousness. And the fact that Srila Prabhupada was able to do so much with us, is just a further testimony to Srila Prabhupada’s glory. But anyway, at the back of Hare Krishna land, there is a garden. There are six buildings around the garden and in the middle of the garden was a statue of Mahatma Gandhi. So, everything was fine and then August 15th came, India’s Independence Day and the tenants who were living in the tenement buildings came to celebrate Independence Day by gathering around the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. Now, the role of tenants in India is different from the role of tenants in America. In America, the owner is the owner. And the tenants only have rights really in their apartments, or in their houses and of course, they have access. But in India, the tenants have more rights than the landlords. But Nara Narayana was saying, this is our property now. We can control who comes into the garden and who doesn’t and what they do in the garden.

So, Nara Narayana was in charge of the garden under Prabhupada’s order and he has a very big bellicose voice. So, when he saw the tenants gathering around the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, he went up to them and said, “Go away. You cannot come here; this is our garden.” He might not have said that but that was the idea that this is our garden and we are working in the garden. You just can’t come into our garden. So they said, “Well, it is India’s Independence Day and we have come to honor the occasion at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi.” “Oh! Mahatma Gandhi, he is a demon.” So that was it. If that was in the movie, it would be like a close-up of Nara Narayana’s face. “Oh! Mahatma Gandhi, he is a demon.” And then all that heavy music and then that was it. Then the next scene, letters being typed, Prime Minister, Home Minister, Chief of Police. Subject: Insult to the father of the nation. And that was the beginning of the opposition.

And so Nair took advantage. Anyway, it was a big drama. Nṛsiṁha Ānanda Prabhu of YTV, one time actually wanted to make a movie. It would make a good movie. He was going to work with. . . he does all the books and tapes in L.A, the elderly brahmachari or Vanaprastha begins with a Amala-bhakta. They were going to work on the screenplay together, very dramatic story. And another heroine, she didn’t go to Bombay but is Mithihili. This was another vivid scene. This was in 1973; it was a battle. It was like a see-saw, we would get the upper hand and they would get the upper hand. So, we had the upper hand. We had gotten permission to build a semi-permanent temple. It was very simple with steel tubes as supports, and asbestos sheets, and some brick works. So Mr. Nair was in very close terms with the local municipal counselor. And he was really hostile towards us. He was really antagonistic. Well, I will just tell it as we experienced it.

So, one day after the morning program, I was chanting my rounds near the temple and suddenly, these big lorries come up to Hare Krishna land. And there were some trucks from the municipality and there was a paddy wagon from the police station. So, all these municipal workers come down out of the lorries with their sledge, hammers, and like pickaxes, and chisels, and they start to attack the temple, demolish the temple. So I was shocked. I couldn’t believe, what was happening. And we have the permission. I said, what are you doing? They said, you don’t have permission. That structure is illegal and we have come to demolish it. So I ran and I got the permission. I was trying to show it to them. They wouldn’t pay any attention. So, of course, we tried to intervene to stop them physically. And so, the police just started picking us up one by one and putting us in the paddy wagon. And Maitahili, I think, probably her name was Maithili but we used to say Maitahili. So, Maitahili, she positioned herself in front of the door to the deity room like this. And she was so brave and heroic. And they didn’t know what to do? They couldn’t get passed her, but eventually, they grabbed her by the hair and dragged her away. Even then, she was struggling and fighting and then they took us all to the police station.

But there was one devotee named Manasvi, he was actually Gujarati. He wasn’t as heroic as we were. He was hiding in the bushes, watching everything happen but he was intelligent. So, when he saw what was happening, he went to one of the tenants houses and phoned Bal Thackeray who was the leader of the Shiv Sena party in Bombay. I guess, different people have different opinions about him. But he really got excited when he got the phone call from Manasvi Prabhu. And apart from his staunch Hindu fervor, it also happened that the local municipal councilor was from the congress party, so that might have added a little more impetus. So, he phoned the municipal commissioner and as we heard later, he said, “Your people are trying to destroy a Hindu temple in Juhu, Hare Krishna temple.” And then he said, “Don’t you forget who this city belongs to. I want this demolition to stop immediately.” So, then the municipal commissioner phoned the local ward officer and on diary, we came under the k-ward. And then the ward officer personally came to the site to stop the demolition.

But there was another dramatic incident that took place there. They were trying to break the steel tubes that were supporting the roof of the Darshan Mandir and of course, the deity room but they couldn’t with the sledge hammers, and chainsaws; they couldn’t. So, some of the municipal workers went back to the ward office to get blow torches. So, they came back with blow torches and they were actually starting to cut through the bottom of the steel tubes. So, the first lady devotee to join us in Juhu and take initiation was Gandiva and she was just from down the street. And her mother had some sort of mystic powers. Actually, someone should make a movie. So, the right across from the temple, there is this old frame house, really looked like a haunted house. And the man in the house, he was like very powerful in Juhu because Juhu was just like a poor fisherman’s village. He did some sort of séances. He would have meetings, lots of people would come, and they would pay money and he would bring them into conversation with their deceased loved ones. And he had a strange little area outside in his garden where there are these little stone chairs and an altar. We don’t even know what he did but It seemed very dark and mysterious.

So, he didn’t like us coming into Juhu because he was like a demigod there. All these ignorant people were coming to him and he was a big man. So, he also didn’t like us. So these enemies, they gathered around when the temple was being attacked. So, Mr. Matre, he was kitty corner just by the, there was a Shiva temple there. So, he was talking to his friends, and laughing, and smiling, and then the man from across who was doing the séances and occult procedures, he was laughing when they brought the blowtorches. And Gandiva’s mother cursed him and said, “Just as you were laughing because Krishna’s temple is being burned, one day, you will burn. And some weeks or months later, maybe two or three months later, right at maṅgala-ārati time, we heard shrill shrieks coming from the old frame house across the street. And then, we saw an ambulance come, police cars. And later, we found out that the man who had laughed, he had poured kerosene all over his body and set fire to his body, committed suicide. Yes. So, don’t mess with Krishna. Don’t mess with Srila Prabhupada. And then a small note about the municipal counselor because, everyone was getting reactions. I can’t go through the whole list even Mr. Nair, he suddenly had a heart attack and died. Everyone was getting reactions. The only one who seemed to be carrying on business as usual was the local municipal councillor.

So I am not sure exactly, but it was a little after Prabhupada left, and I was talking with Tamal Krishna Goswami. There was another one also, he tried to do some mischief; he also collapsed. He was an MLA—Member of the Legislative Assembly. And he got in the same group, against us. And one day, he collapsed in front of the Sachivalaya, the state government building and he just died on the spot, on the sidewalk. Everyone was getting reactions. And I was discussing with Tamal Krishna Goswami, what about the local municipal councilor? What’s with him? And then Tamal Krishna Goswami said, he quoted the verse from Bhagavad-gītā, that for one who has been honored, dishonor is worse than death. So he said, his reaction would be that he would be dishonored and so It happened. A few weeks later, it discovered that he had many rackets. People were building all these illegal booths on Juhu beach, and having concessions, and no permits or anything. They are just paying him and everything was okay. So that way, he was taking money everywhere. There was a local municipal school across from the temple. So, he had a policy that if anyone wanted to be appointed as a teacher, the ladies, I guess most of the teachers were ladies, they had to have relations with him. And then, I think his wife found out he was having an affair with someone else. Anyway, he was exposed. And then right in front of the temple, there was huge march up, a protest march where they were holding placards, condemning him and maybe even a picture or something with chapels around, the highest insult. And then, we thought of Lord Krishna’s words in Bhagavad-gītā, for one who has been honored, dishonor is worse than death.

So, we see both results from the saga of Hare Krishna land. The devotees who dedicated their lives to the service of Krishna based on Krishna’s promise here in Bhagavad-gītā, they will go back home, back to Godhead. And the enemies who only became enemies because of their own nature, not because Srila Prabhupada did anything against them, they got their reactions. But even their reactions are good for them, to purify them of their envious nature so that they can also improve. And because somehow or other, they came in touch with Krishna consciousness, Krishna punishes them to reform them and purify them. And at the same time, I am sure, they will get benefit because they were always saying Hare Krishna. Mr. Matrey was always going to the newspapers Hare Krishna is this, Hare Krishna is that, Hare Krishna temples illegal, Hare Krishna people are drug addicts, Hare Krishna people are smugglers. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna. And then the people would read the newspaper Hare Krishna is this, Hare Krishna is that. So indirectly, they were also spreading. So, Krishna is so merciful, He will give them some benefit.

Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari, ki jaya!

Srila Prabhupada, ki jaya!
Hare Krishna land, ki jaya!
Sri Sri Rukmini-Dwarkadhish, ki jaya!
Dwarka Dham, ki jaya!
Srivasa Prabhu, ki jaya!
Nitai-Gaura premānande, Haribol!

Devotees: Giriraj Maharaja, ki jaya!

Devotee: Everyone should know that Maharaja was involved with temple project from the very beginning and he performed all his austerities and Srila Prabhupada became very dependent upon his service there. Without him, the temple would not have existed. It was really amazing because Giriraj Maharaja managed it so well. It became an immediate hit. As soon as that temple went up, the people just start flooding there.

Giriraj Swami: That is true. It is one of the main tourist spots in Bombay. There is not much in Bombay, there is Gateway of India but we get buses and buses. Well, we got school children coming in buses to see the temple. We get tourists coming in buses from all over. So, we even had buses of tourists from Rajasthan coming to the temple and of course, from all over Maharashtra. That is true.

Devotee: And in the festival, if they have congregation gatherers around thirty thousand people, some Janmashtami festival.

Giriraj Swami: Well, the regular Sunday program, I think was something like what you said between I forget the figures now. But it was at least ten thousand on Sunday, maybe twenty-five thousand or more. And during the week, one or two thousand on an ordinary day. And Janmashtami was the estimates varies and I also forget. I think, minimum five lakhs up to twenty lakhs. The queue for darshan was two miles long. Yes, it was not just single file. The whole street was full of people waiting in queue. And It would go all the way down, Juhu Road to the Juhu church. [Unintelligible 01:05:19–01:05:24]. They all came together. They all had their own motives. And then, it would wind around, just amazing. And it televised, first they would come and film maybe fifteen minutes and show it on television, Janmashtami now. Of course then, there was cable television. Now they have live coverage of Krishna Janmashtami at Hare Krishna land for hours. Yes?

Devotee: By the way, my spiritual master His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja, he really dedicated part number fifteen totally to His Holiness, Giriraj Maharaja. It is called Bombay Saga. How Giriraj Maharaja helped to establish the temple and follow in Srila Prabhupada’s footsteps. So, I really encourage everyone to please watch that part number fifteen, glorifying His Holiness, Srila Prabhupada. [Unintelligible 01:06:31–01:06:37].

Giriraj Swami: Srila Prabhupada, ki jaya!
Nitai-Gaura premānande, Haribol!